Cotton-press



' s. J. WILLIAMS.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1.,

COTTON PRESS.

(No Model.)

No. 51 ,709. Patented (Apr. 24,1894.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SILAS JACKSON WILLIAMS, OF FLOYD, TEXAS.

COTTON-PRESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 518,709, dated April24, 1894.

. Application filedJ'uly 8, 1893- $eria1No.479,952. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SILAs JACKSON WIL- LIAMS, a citizen of the UnitedStates, resid- Ing at Floyd, in the county of Hunt and State of Texas,have invented a new and useful Cotton-Press, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in cotton-presses, and hasparticular reference to the plunger operating mechanism.

The objects in view are to provide a cheap, s mple, and powerfulmechanism under the direct control of the operator, the same belng soconstructed as to operate the plunger through the medium of hydraulicpressure created by the presence of steam, the parts belng so arrangedas to multiply the power. With these, and other objects in view theInvention consists in certain features of con struction hereinafterspecified and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings:Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of abaling press,

the same being provided with a plunger operating mechanism embodying myinvention. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through theplunger operating mechanism.

Like numerals of reference indicate like .parts both the figures of thedrawings.

The baling chamber 1 may be of any desired construction, and as usual inthis class of presses, namely, the vertical type, is located upon asuitable platform or floor 2 located above the plunger operatingmechanism. The chamber being of the ordinary construction and forming nopart of my invention therefore requires no particular description.

Upon a suitable framework or bed 3 located below the floor or platform 2is securely bolted and supported a steam cylinder 4, the

same being flanged at its lower end' to receive the bolts5 which passtherethrough and through the bed 3. The cylinder is provided with atruncated cone-shaped or reduced dome 6, the same being flanged at itsupper end, as at 7, which meets with the flange 8 formed at the lowerend of an elongated hydraulic cylinder 9 which corresponds in diameterwith the reduced upper end of the cylinder 4. The upper end of thecylinder 9is flanged as at 10 and has bolted thereto a head-plate 11. In

the end of the cylinder 4 there is located a guide-bar 12, and the sameis provided at its center with a stuffinggland 13 in which there ismounted for reciprocation the vertical steam piston-rod 14. The lowerend of the piston rod 14 is secured to a piston head 15, suitably packedto fit within the steam cylinder 4. p

The head-plate 11 at the upper end of the hydraulic cylinder 9 isprovided with a stun?- ing-gland 16, and mounted for reciprocationtherein is the plunger or piston-rod 17, which extends throughoutthelength of the cylinder 9 and above the plate 11 where it is providedwith the follower 18 designed to fit within the baling-chamber and toreciprocate therein in the usual manner. The follower may be secured tothe end of the piston in any suitable manner and in thisinstance Iemploy a socket 19 securely bolted as at 20 to the under side of thefollower and having its lower or socket end receiving the upper end ofthe plunger or piston rod 17. The lower end of the plunger or piston rod17 terminates in a piston head 21 which fits within the cylinder 9 andis also suitably packed so as to form a tight joint therewith. Supportedat one side in, any suitable manner and in this instance upon standards22 is a receiving tank 23, the same being supported above thesteam-cylinder 4 and near the upper end of the cylinder 9. An overflowpipe 24 extends from the upper side and communicates with the interiorof the tank 23 and leads therefrom laterally to a point above the head11 through which it depends and enters the hydraulic cylinder 9. Thepipe 24 is provided with a steam pipe 27 which extends laterallytherefrom and communicates with any source of steam supply,

and at the union of the pipes 24: and 27 a pipe 28 which extendslaterally at its lower end and communicates with the upper contractedportion 6 of the cylinder 4 and adjacent to its union therewith isprovided with a check-valve 29 which opens inwardly or toward thecylinder 4.

A steam supply pipe 30 leads from the bottom and center of the cylinder4to the source of steam supply and in advance of its point ofcommunication with the cylinder 4 has connected therewith asteam-exhaust pipe 33. At the union of the two pipes 30 and 31 athree-way valve 32 is located, the same being operated by a handle orlever 31. This valve, as will be obvious, may be so operated as to cutoff communication between the source of steam supply and the lower endof the cylinder 4 and establish communication between the pipe 30leading from the cylinder and the exhaust pipe 33, or onthe other hand,may cut off communication between the pipes 30 and 33 and form acontinuous. means of communication between the steam supply. and thecylinder.

This completes the construction of the plunger operating mechanism andthe operation thereof may be described as follows: The piston head 15 ofthe cylinder4and that of the hydraulic cylinder 9 being in their lowestpositions, the cylinder 4 above the head 15 and below the head 21 isfilled with water, the check-valveresisting back pressure. Cotton havingbeen placed in the baling chamber in the usual manner the Valve 32 isopened so as to admit steam from the source of supply through the pipe30 to the cylinder 4 below the center of the piston head 15. Such ofcourse forces the head 15 upward, and the Water above the head 15 isforced against the under side of the head 21, thus forcing the piston 21of the plunger of the piston rod 17, together with the plunger, up, thewhole serving to ram or press the cotton in the baling chamber. Anywater which leaks from under the head 21 to a point above the same iscarried to the upper end of the hydraulic cylinder 9 and overflowsthrough the pipe 24, returning to the tank 23, it being understood thatwhen steam islet into the cylinder 4 the pipe 24 is open so as to permitof the overflow. Having reached its highest point the operator cuts offthe steam communication through the pipe 30 and establishescommunication between the steam pipe 30 and the exhaust pipe 33 andopens communication between the steam supply-pipe 27 and theoverflow-pipe 24, thus .letting the steam pass into the upper end of thehydraulic-cylinder 9. This of course forces the head 21 downward andlikewise the head 15, the steam below the latter being exhausted throughpipes 30 and 33. The water that has overflowed through the pipe 24passes down through the return-pipe 28 and by the check-valve 29 whichopens in the di rection of its passage and is thus fed to the cylinder4. This valve open in g only one way resists back-pressure of the waterduring the ascension of the head 15. 7

From the foregoing description 111 connection with the accompanyingdrawings t will be seen that I have provided a very simple, easilyoperated, and durable mechanism for operating the followers of cottonpresses, the said mechanism being directly under the control of theoperator and requiring but a minimum amount of steam for the same.

I do not limit my invention to the precise details of constructionherein shown and described, but hold that I may make such variationstherein as may suggest themselves to me during the practice of theinvention, and will not thereby depart from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I,

claim is 1. The combination with a baling-cha-mber, a subjacenthydraulic-cylinder, a piston-rod and head mounted therein, the formerextending beyond the upper end of the cylinder and provided with afollower, of a steam-cylinder of greater diameter than thehydrauliccylinder, a piston rod and head mounted therein, saidsteam-cylinder communicating.

with the hydraulic-cylinder and an overflowpipe extending from thehydraulic cylinder, a tank elevated above the steam cylinder andcommunicating with the overflow-pipe, a return-pipe depending from thetank and communicating with the steam-cylinder above the piston-headtherein, a steam supply-pipe leading from a source of supply to thelower end of the steam cylinder, and a check valve located in thereturn-pipe.

2. The combination with a baling-chamber, a subjacenthydraulic-cylinder, a piston-rod arranged therein, a piston-headat thelower end of the rod, and a follower at the upper end thereof above thecylinder, of .a stea mcylinder arranged below the hydraulic:cy1inder andsupporting the same and havlng an upper contracted dome agreeing indiameter with the hydraulic-cylinder, and an internal.

guide, 'a piston-rod arranged in the guide, a piston-head secured to thelower end of the rod, a water receiving-tank supported above thesteam-cylinder, a return-pipe leading from the upper end of thehydraulic-cylinder to the receiving-tank, a steam supply-pipecommunicating with the overflow pipe, a three-way valve arranged at theunion thereof, a return-pipe leading from the tank to the upper end ofthe steam-cylinder, an inwardly opening check-valve arranged in thereturnpipe, a steam-supply pipe leading to the lower end of thesteam-cylinder, an exhaust-pipe leading therefrom, and a three-way valvelocated at the union of the two pipes, substantially as specified.

3. The combination with a baling chamber, a subjacenthydraulic-cylinder, a piston-rod and head mounted therein, the formerextending beyond the upper end of the cylinder and provided with afollower, of a steam-cylinder of greater diameter than thehydran1ie-ey1in piston-head therein, substantially as speei- 1o der, apiston-rodand head mounted therein, fied.

said steam-cylinder communicating with the In testimony that I claim Ithe foregoing as hydraulic-cylinder, and an overflow pipe exmy ownIhavehereto affixed my signature in tending from the hydraulic-cylinder, atank the presence of two witnesses.

elevated above the steam-cylinder and com- SILAS J AOKSON WILLIAMS.munieating with the overflow-pipe, and a re- Witnesses: v i turn pipedepending from the tank and com- L. C. CLIFTON,

municatin g with the steam-cylinder above the T. HARRIS.

